Fools, Stars, and Magicians
by Themm Verbrai
Summary: A book of drabbles for Yu/OC, Akihiko/Oc, and Yosuke/OC. Under serious construction, many of these will be edited once, twice, many times more.
1. 1 - Jealous? (Yu)

- Disclaimer - I do not own Persona 4. But if I did...fufufufufu.

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><p><strong>1 - Jealous?<strong>

"Hey, Narukami!" Yosuke shouted at the silvernette down the sidewalk. Chie and Akiko flanked the russet-haired boy, and smiled politely at Yu when the boy turned around.

"So like, we should get together at lunch to-"

Chie cut in Yosuke's sentence. "Talk about the PROJECT. For class, right?" She chuckled nervously through her ground teeth.

Aki had no knowledge of the TV world, and Yosuke almost blew it. He sweat dropped nervously in the background, as Akiko shared a confused look with the group of friends.

It didn't bother her much. She half ignored their conversation as she ran her fingers through her long ponytail, lost in her own thoughts.

"YU! HEY, YU!"

The four teens glanced curiously at the ginger girl running towards them-Yu's face turned pale. Akiko let her hair fall back into place, and Yosuke pulled his headphones off of his ears-both in surprise. The girl latched onto Yu's arm with a deadly grip, yanking him in the opposite direction of his walking.

"Hey let's play hooky today and hang out with each other!" She squealed, pulling on Yu's arm. He struggled, still forcing himself to comply to her bidding. He shouted an apology at his friends with a distressed look on his features before being dragged off by Ai.

His three friends stood there in the awkward wake.

"Since when did Ai-chan and Narukami hook up?"

Chie shrugged at Yosuke and they continued to walk to school.

Akiko glanced over her shoulder occasionally, feeling a little pain in her chest.


	2. 2 - Ugh, feelings (Yu)

**2 - Ugh, feelings**

Things became more and more awkward with Yu's friends and his "problem" as the charade went on. Once in class Yu had been too scared to answer his ringing cell phone, but still fearing the wrath of his "girlfriend".

Aki didn't like it one bit, and it showed. In class, she would listen to lessons with her head in her desk, earbuds in. The brunette would decline all offers given to her by other students to hang out after school. Instead the female would walk home, relishing in her music. She didn't feel as close as she used to be to Yu. In fact, it was like their whole relationship had become...reversed...put onto bad terms until an important apology or moment occurred.

She didn't dwell on that moment though. She carried on with a little sadness in her heart.

Yu felt completely unnatural with Ai. Things were so sudden that he didn't exactly know how to feel. He was so awkward and socially weird-and she was bananas.

He couldn't help but thing about Akiko. The more time he spent away from the Star Arcana female, the more he seemed to miss her. In the short amount of time he had come to know Akiko Shura, he felt feelings develop more and more for her...deeper and deeper. Something he hadn't felt with any other before. Lately, when Ai tries to kiss him all he can think about is the beautiful brunette girl. Her sapphire eyes, her silky locks, her charming attitude...

"Yu! You're not paying attention to me!" Ai interrupted his thoughts with her shrill voice. He blinked awake, looking down at the spoon he held midair over his ice cream.

"Sorry." He apologized for what felt like the 50th time.

The two were in the Junes food court, sharing an ice cream. Yu prodded at the frozen food with his spoon. He didn't have much of an appetite. When they had gone to buy the frozen desert, Yosuke gave the two of them a confused look. Even Yosuke was confused as to why they were still together.

Such was the life of Yu Narukami.

"Yu, we need to talk."

His eyes lit up. Was this the break he was looking for?

"Uh, s-sure. What's up?"

Ai brushed back her hair as she took another scoop of ice cream between her lips. She rested the spoon back in the bowl and folded her fingers together. Her eyes pierced the table and moved slowly to meet those grey orbs that belonged to Yu.

"...I don't want you to talk to Shura-senpai."

Yu blinked, his face paling.

"I can't do that, Ai."


	3. 3 alt - Confidence (Yu)

**3 alt - Confidence**

"Meet me Aiya in five"

Akiko read the text over and over again. It was from Narukami-the boy she was certain she had feelings for. Chie and Yukiko had sat down with the girl a few days prior and help her collect her thoughts.

Although she wasn't sure how to react, since he was still out of her reach. Where did she go from here?

Maybe this text message held the answer, she thought to herself. It was rare that Yu would ever text her first, let alone at all with this girlfriend of his.

The team was playing a basketball game just a few hours prior, so she assumed he had just finished up if he was asking to meet her.

What was on his mind? What was going on?

She saw his shining locks in the distance, under the different colours of the sunset. His handsome features were shaped into determination. His arms were Ai free, and that made Akiko a bit more curious.

He was just a few feet away from her. She folded her hands on her lap and bowed politely.

"Narukami-san, what's u-"

Yu's hands grasped either side of her face. He leaned down to her level, and his lips collided with hers. His passionate kiss was almost bone shattering-the overwhelming feelings of longing and affectionate and need exploded between the two teens.

His eyes, which were at one point squinted shut at their emotional impact now relaxed. As he towered over the girl, he adjusted his hold on her once the kiss melted into a mutual action. His one hand fell to hold her gently at her hip while the other brushed it's thumb against her porcelain cheek. As soon as Akiko returned his kiss, she wrapped her arms around his neck and tilted her head upward to better comfort the tall teen.

She smiled against his lips, and he pulled away. Yu rested his forehead against hers, the tip of his nose brushing against hers.

"Listen Aki-chan. I know I haven't known you for very long, but for the few months I've known you I've come to admire everything about you. Not even Ai-san and her weird "forced relationship to keep her happy" thing can change how I feel about you, because you're special. I'd like for you to be a part of my life."

Akiko suddenly snorted, and Yu began to blush furiously. Had he said something stupid? Did she not return his feelings...

"I have a feeling that's the last time you'll say that much in one go for a long time." She giggled, brushing his bangs out of his eyes and pecking him on the cheek. "I want you to be a part of my life too, Yu-kun." Akiko responded, resting her head against his shoulder with a content sigh.


	4. 4 - Nighty Night (Yu)

**4 - Nighty Night~**

It was late at night. The silver-haired teenager stumbled into his room with an exhausted sigh. Outside, the crickets chirped with the coming warm weather. The air hung heavy with the summer humidity. Yu closed the door behind him and discarded his light jacket from his torso. Now comfortable in his jeans and thin long-sleeve shirt, he placed the coat in his closet, sliding the storage closed.

The moment he turned around, his heart practically leap out of his chest. The teenager grasped at his chest, calming the beating down to an acceptable level.  
>The brunette's presence on his couch was a little surprising. His girlfriend didn't often spent time at his house when he was away, but Yu always looked forward to her little surprises.<p>

It just seems like she fell asleep before she could see his reaction.  
>A small smile found home on the male's face. Slowly he made his way over to the couch. He gave her shoulder a gentle nudge, urging her awake. Her blue eyes opened after a few flutters and scanning his facial features in fatigued confusion. The moment she recognized him, however, she sent the silvernette a heart warming smile.<p>

"Hey cutie."

"You should be in bed...it's late." He scolded, kneeling down next to her. He was at eye level with Aki, running his long and soft finger through her curly red locks. She snorted in response, extending her arms out to him. This was usually her gesture to him to either a) pick her up or b) embrace her.

Never against his will, Yu took up his girlfriend in his capable arms. She haphazardly placed her arms around his neck for the brief moments she was in the air. The male's breath was light on her skin and calmed her body down a bit.

Now that she knew he was safe, she would smother every bit of him.

Yu lowered her body-bridal style, onto his futon. With another gentle caress of her hair Yu moved to pull a blanket over her. She immediately protested.

"Yu...c'mere." She grunted, clearly disoriented and tired. The teen blushed, but happily complied with her request as she freed up room for him on the futon. It was a tight squeeze, but the two embraced flush against the other's body.

Yu could feel every inch of her on his body...and that heated things up a bit. To him, she already looked and acted like perfection, but her body felt like perfection up against him.

Every curve spawned a reaction as the silvernette boy grazed his hands along the inches of her body. He could hear a gentle, satisfied moan as his big hands found their place on her hips. Pelvis to pelvis, he tried very hard to control the emotional frustration his nether regions were about to experience.

However all of that was lost as she moved to undress him. It was more out of innocent motives-she knew he slept better in boxers. His light long sleeve fell in a heap next to the futon, and to convey his pent up passion and feelings Yu gently pressed his lips in circles on the nape of her neck as the brunette girl began to unbutton his jeans. The garment too fell next to the futon in the clothing silvernette released a shaky sigh, pulling the sheets up to cover both of their bodies.

Aki snuggled close to him, resting her head against Yu's bare chest. She breathed a small sound of amusement-basketball had been good to his body.

"I'm sorry if I'm not up for anything tonight." Aki whispered, her lips dancing across the skin of his shoulder. Yu grasped the girl's shoulders, causing her to look back up at him. His forefinger and thumb tilted her chin up and his grey eyes caught her blue ones. They held a clear understanding.

"This is perfect, don't worry."

He placed a loving kiss atop her head, then against her nose, and following with a deep kiss. Yu's thumb moved to caress her cheek in affection. Pulling away, the male wrapped his arms around her shoulders as he snuggled his nose into her hair. Aki giggled, thumbing his neck softly.

"Yu, you're perfect~"


	5. 5 - Disaster (Yu)

**5 - Disaster**

Yu glanced out his window, watching the rain pour onto the street. He slipped his cell phone out of his pocket, scanning the last text message he received from his girlfriend. The heart shaped emoticon was the last thing she sent to him before his soccer practice. Since then, he had sent her a text to let her know that he had finished practice but she had not responded. With one hand on the curtains, the teen closed the curtains. Engulfed in the darkness, he turned towards his tube television in waiting. He would wait now for the next victim's claim on the midnight channel.

The silvernette released a deep breath as the clock struck midnight. At that moment, his television began to develop static. The image cleared, and a deep foggy forest appeared on the screen. With a raised eyebrow, Yu sat on the edge of his couch, his hands folded in his lap. The camera seems to be in first person, as the person trekked through the dark forest. All was quiet, save for the leaves crunching underneath the person's feet. A brunette girl started to form in the fog that cleared, glancing from side to side.

The brunette slowly began to peer over her shoulder, and with a giggle she turned to face the camera.

Yu's jaw dropped. His cell phone fell to the ground with a soft thud. The bright yellow eyes of the girl's shadow bore into his own and for a moment, Yu's heart stopped.

**"Hey there everyone, and welcome to Akiko's Deadly Survival Challenge! Watch me trek through this lethal, extremely dangerous forest all by MY lonesome." **Shadow Akiko gave the camera a big thumbs up, a sadistic gleam in her possessed yellow eyes. When she mentioned being on her lonesome, she crossed her arms and embraced herself, placing the attention more on her now noticeable breast outline with a wink.

**"What kind of things will happen? Will I fall subject to some type of poisonous animal? Or maybe some handsome stranger will take advantage of me?" **Akiko winked, and Yu felt the panic begin to rise in his chest.

**"Think I have the balls to do it? Think I have the power to survive without human interaction in the most dangerous place this side of the universe?" **She paused, chuckling as she plunged into the undergrowth. **"We'll see!~"**


	6. 6 - Battlefront (Yu)

I started looking through all my writing while writing this and realized that my work has really gone down hill...

*bows* I'm so sorry! Please just deal with me...

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><p><strong>6 - Battlefront<strong>

"Yu!"

Yosuke caught up with the team leader, who had stopped in the middle of a clearing and was searching for another path frantically. Yukiko and Chie joined, and the three member panted as they struggled for breath.

"Hey Narukami, we really should slow down a bit. I think you're straining a little." Chie added through weak breaths.

Yu shook his head. "I'm fine. Do you sense anything, Teddie?"

His team grunted to themselves, but admired their leader's determination. They were just so exhausted.

"Um...there!" Teddie pointed to his left with confidence. "Over there! I smell Aki-chan!"

Yu was gone in a flash. The rest of the team followed suite.

When they reached the dark cave opening in the forest, they found their objective. Shadow Akiko looked within, towering over a very weak looking Akiko across a large fixture in the ground. The four teens stopped at the edge of the fixture, calling towards the female.

"You can't survive alone, can you Akiko?"

"T-that's not true..."

"Akiko!" Yukiko shouted, but failed to get the girl's attention. In fact, the whole team seemed to fail getting Akiko's attention. Her stressed and weak expression seemed to be linked to the harassment her Shadow gave her.

Shadow Akiko laughed, grabbing her master's arm and throwing Akiko into the ground with an effort that seemed without so much as a lift of her finger.

"Leave her alone!" Yu barked, his eyes invisible as his glasses shone with the light of his persona. "Izanagi!"

"Aki Aki Aki. Let's face it, I know everything about you." Shadow Akiko walked towards her master, grabbing her by the hair and making her look up into the shadow's yellow eyes. Aki hissed, spitting in the girl's face.

Shadow Aki growled and pulled to teach Aki a lesson. Yu was beside himself, unable to help but ready to intervene when even possible.

"Please, don't fight it Aki-chan!" Chie pleaded, getting ready to summon Tomoe.

"You're terrified of people. You want to be alone, and dead. Dead so no one can hurt you. You're so scared that your friends are going to leave you. You're so scared that your parents are going to be disappointed in you. And most of all, you're scared that Yu is gonna lose interest in you...like every guy does."

"I mean...what does Yu see in you, Akiko?" The Shadow chuckled, flipping her wild brunette hair around.

"A-Akiko! Don't listen, please! You know that's not true!" Yosuke pleaded.

"How can we get across this fixture..." Chie hissed, crawling down to the edge of the fixture and examining the area. The team frantically searched for some way to cross the fixture. Chie and Yosuke settled on sending Jiraiya and Tomoe to bash rocks and trees to cross the fixture. Yukiko and Yu provide support, fighting off the other shadows being drawn to the area. Kanji, bless his soul, took out shadows with ease but still cursed the higher power.

"You're not important. To him, you're nothing but a toy. Stupid bitch. He's going to lose interest in you."

"You know that's what is going to happen...because no one cares about you. You. Are. Worthless."

"N-no! Stop it! YOU'RE NOT ME!"

Shadow Akiko perked up, chuckling wildly before convulsing on the spot. A huge blur of darkness engulfed her, and the shadow screeched. The shadow evolved, a nine tailed canine creature covered with matted black fur, blood, and torn clothing. It's fur had red frosted tips. The creature had no eyes, just sockets. It's massive jaws made for the weak Akiko, and all the girl could do was raise an arm in her defence.

Izanagi dashed from across the fixture, grabbing Akiko in his embrace. His back faced Shadow Akiko, enduring the hit. The gang crossed the make-shift bridge in time to provide assault on the shadow. Jiraiya and Tomoe used physical attacks on the shadow from behind. Yukiko stuck behind to support Chie and Yosuke, while Yu ran across the fixture, towards the side of Izanagi and Akiko. Kanji's persona came in from above, landing some critical damage.

Shadow Akiko hissed, barking down at the puny humans.

"Fools! You think you can outwit me? I'll show you all I can be!"

"Overcome your fears, Aki-chan! You can beat this, you're not alone!" Yukiko cried, summoning her tarot card. "Media!"

The ninetails whip around, flinging Yu back against the wall before he could reach his persona. Izanagi tumbled, leaving Akiko unprotected. There was a skid trail of blood on Yu's arm and legs from the impact. Shadow Akiko followed up quickly with a large cast of Maragi, effecting all but Yukiko. Chie was knocked down, Tomoe colliding with the ground.

"Yu! Hold on!" Yosuke summoned Jiraiya, whom prepared a Garu cast. The wind smashed into Shadow Akiko with brutal force, weakening the fox. Yu initiated an all out attack, ultimately weakening the shadow.

The team repeated the process to weaken the shadow, following up with some heavy physical damage from Kanji. Shadow Akiko let out a cry of agony, falling to the ground at Aki's feet in human form.

Aki glanced at her other self with lidded, weak eyes. The team raced to her location, keeping distance from the weak Shadow.

Aki kneeled at the shadow's side, running a hand through her hair.

"You're the lonely side of me. I finally understand. My true, irrational fears need to be overcome if I want to start living properly."

The yellow eyes female sighed in relief, melting away in a sky blue light. The light gave way to the same shadow creature with a different colour palette and neatly groomed orange fur.

"...Miho." Aki smiled at the fox, nodding her head in understanding.

The moment Miho disappeared, Akiko fell to her knees. A pair of arms caught her underneath her arms and hauled her body into his relaxing embrace. Yu lowered himself to the ground, the two teens at their knees. The rest of the team looked on the scene knowingly, with Teddie asking oblivious questions and having to be taught by Yosuke and Chie.

"Why does Yu get all the ladies..." Yosuke muttered to himself.

Yu buried his nose into Aki's hair, an embarrassed blush on his features. Aki softly chuckled, lifting her hand to run fingers through his hair with a gentle smile.

"Don't you ever do that again." He whispered into her hair, stiffening up in the shoulders. "I was...so worried about you."

The brunette continued to stroke his hair with a gentle look that showed her clear understanding.

"I'm sorry." Was all she could say.

Yu lifted his head, glancing right into her blue eyes. "I will always be here for you. Don't ever fear me leaving." He added, stroking her cheek and brushing her loose hair behind her ears.

Akiko nodded, her weak smile enough to warm Yu's shocked heart again. She was safe, that was all that mattered.

"Let's get her home, ya?" Kanji nodded, placing a hand on Yu's shoulder. Yu glanced back at him and nodded.


	7. 7 - Comfort (Yu)

**7 - Comfort**

Aki woke in a daze as her eyes tried to pick up her surroundings. She didn't recognize the room, and began to panic. Was she still trapped?

She sat upright, and blinked in surprise when some sheets pooled on her lap. There was a blanket over her body that fell to her lap when she sat up.

Aki was in a room with beige coloured walls. Sunlight was streaming in through a thin line between the curtains. There was a shelf across from her, a work table, a study desk, and a cabinet with a television. There was another body sleep on the grey couch. From underneath a blue sheet, the brunette could make out messy tufts of silver hair.

"What...happened." She murmured, grasping at her forehead with pain in her fragile joints. The figure stirred at the sound of her voice, and Yu's head peeked out from underneath the sheets.

"Good morning...how are you feeling?" Yu started slowly, rubbing his eye free of sleep. He lifted up, kneeling on the couch. His sheets flowed over his shoulders and around his body.

"...so it wasn't a dream." Akiko groaned, resting her head in her hands.

Yu stood up and sat on the edge of the futon, beside his girlfriend. Her blue eyes glanced at him from between her fingers. He blinked at her, internally trying to figure out how to cheer her up.

The silvernette decided on something, and quickly crossed to the other side of the room. Akiko watched with a confused expression.

Yu returned to her side and placed something in her lap. Akiko looked down at the stuffed object and tilted her head.

"It's...a stuffed rabbit?"

The fluffy, grey bunny had a sown smile on it's face. It's tail was a fluffy bundle of white, and it's eyes were cute little black beads.

Yu chuckled, scratching the back of his neck.

"Yeah, his name is Minu-kun. I use to sleep with it when I was little. Or when I was scared, I would cuddle with Minu -kun."

Akiko giggled, lifting the stuffed animal to eye level. "He's cute!"

Yu smiled, a result from her giggling. He admired everything about her.

"If you ever feel lonely...I mean..." Yu blushed a little, but placed a hand on Akiko's knee affectionately. "You can just hold Minu-kun and think about me. If I ever leave you alone, that is." Yu followed up with a laugh.

Akiko blushed, and turned away from Yu. Yu's smile fell, and he moved his hand to hold her shoulder.

"H-hey, what's wrong?"

"I can't believe I...I was like that. I...never wanted you to hear that." The brunette rubbed her arm, embarrassed and nervous. Yu sighed, grabbing her hand and removing it from her arm. His thumb gently brushed her knuckles back and forth. She watched his thumb, trying to keep from looking him in the eyes as her blush darkened.

"Don't worry. I'm glad I know what was bothering you." He softly pecked her lips and rested his forehead against hers.

"I'll be here for you. Izanagi and I, we'll protect you okay?"


	8. 8 - Accident (Yosuke)

**8 - Accident**

"Persona!"

Akiko's tarot card hovered in front of her face. She raised her double ended blade and slashed the card to the ground. With a shining blue light, the fox spirit appeared from its abyss. With vigor, the human teenager curled her hand into a fist and pumped it into the air. Her other hand reached up to adjust the red and yellow glasses on the bridge of her nose.

"Let's go, Miho!" Dancing around the shadows, Yu, Yosuke, Yukiko and Akiko circled around the area. With grace, the team eliminated numerous shadows. Their confidence rose with each battle. Their leader, Yu, took out a slobbering shadow with a cast of Zio.

Akiko beamed and cheered, "Good job, Narukami! Way to-"

_**CRASH! **_

**_Thump _**

_**"YOSUKE!" **_

The brunette had slipped and crashed into Yosuke, who was in the middle of giving instructions to Jiraiya. The russet haired teen hadn't been paying attention either, and fell in a heap with Akiko.

The white suited guardian fell on top of Miho, who yipped and huffed her last breath. She had become completely winded. The fox growled and barked at Jiraiya, wiggling her way out from underneath him but having no luck. She managed to throw a bashful Jiraiya off of her furry back with a thrust of her powerful paws as the creature rolled onto her back. Jiraiya picked himself off the floor and scoffed quietly, dusting himself off around the knees and keeping his glance separate from the fox with a proud stance a few feet away as he returned to battle.

"YOSUKE. Get your ass off me! God-watch where you're going..." Akiko struggled under Yosuke's weigh. The boy was sprawled on top of her, body facing towards her chest under him. His face flushed and he barked down at her, supporting himself with outstretch arms at either.

"Watch where I'M going? You fell on me!"

"Clearly, since I'm on top, right?!"

Yu and Yukiko sweatdropped, commanding Izanagi to finish the remaining shadows. Always bickering, those two...even in battle.


	9. 9 - Father (Yosuke)

**9 - Father**

"Miss Shura, how are you today?"

Akiko turned to address the voice who called her. At the sight of the well dressed man, the teen tilted her head in confusion. Nevertheless, she bowed hesitantly, folding her hands on her lap against her Junes apron.

"I'm alright, and how are you, sir?"

"I'm alright, thank you."

There was a silence between the two people, and Akiko cleared her throat awkwardly and continued to stack the vegetables in the grocery aisle. The well dressed man chuckled and folded his hands behind his back.

"You have no idea who I am, do you?" The man could see the flinch in Akiko's arched shoulders. She chuckled, obviously embarrassed. "S-Sorry, my apologizes."

He laughed this time, more genuinely as he waved a hand at her.

"Its alright! No need to be so formal. I just wanted to let you know that other members of the staff really commend your work. For a student, I'm impressed." The man ran a hand through his hand and grinned at the teen, being a little looser with his presence so as to calm the student. The brunette glanced back in surprised, but flushed with a small smile.

"Oh...well that's good to hear! Thank you!"

"Hey, Aki-chan. Where did you put the-ah!"

Both Akiko and the well dressed older man turned to glance at Akiko's russet haired friend. Yosuke's cheerful smile faltered a little and he looked at the older man with wide eyes.

"D-Dad? You're here? Is something wrong?"

...

Dad?

...!

"M-M-M-Mister Hanamura!" The brunette teen suddenly bowed deeply and remained there. A dark flush crept onto her face. "I am so sorry I didn't recognize you!"

"Ah, it's alright, please get up." He chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck.

"I just came to talk to some employees, nothing major. Is everything alright?"

"Ah, nothing to report really. Aki-chan, its fine, really! My dad isn't that much of a prick...you can stand." Yosuke chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his own neck. He resembled his father in a creepy way, and the poor teen girl sweatdropped.

The manager of the store left the two teens with a wave. The two stood together for a minute or two, Yosuke striking up conversation but not earning much response. "

H-Hey, Aki?" He placed his hand on her shoulder as they walked to the break room. "You okay? My dad didn't say something weird did he? That old geezer."

"I just...you know I've known you a long time and I've never met your parents." Yosuke brushed his nose with his index finger in thought.

"Huh...I guess you've never come over before." He snapped his fingers, and continued to remove his apron. "Well, we'll just have to fix that!"

"Ah...alright. Whatever you say, guy." She smirked, removing the extremely polite "customer service" face and returning to her sarcastic but nice attitude. She sat down in the break room chair and sighed, resting her foot against the leg of the table.

"We'll hang out and watch some movies or something. Maybe something else..." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her and earned her playful smack to the shoulder from across the table.

"This is why I don't come over. Pervert."

"Hey, c'mon!"

"Hey, Hana-chan!" The two turned heads to look at the door, seeing the wavy haired senior standing in the doorway. She approached them. Yosuke beamed and practically bowed to her. Akiko frowned and narrowed her eyes.

"Can you take a shift for me next week? I'm really desperate..."

"Yeah-sure-a-anytime!"

Akiko slammed her head on the desk.


	10. 10 - Rain (Yosuke)

**10 - Rain**

It was raining. The russet haired boy caught sight of his new silver haired friend. Clutching onto his umbrella harder, he raced to catch up with him.

"Narukami!"

The teen turned to glance over his shoulder. At the sight of Yosuke, Yu turned half his body towards him and stopped walking, lifting his umbrella a bit.

"Hey."

"Didja watch the Midnight Channel last night?"

"Yeah. It wasn't very clear though. Just like the night before."

Yosuke nodded in agreement, sliding his left hand into his pocket and sighing. "I feel like we're getting no where with this case, you know? First Miss Yamano, then Saki...Yukiko, and Kanji. Who's next..." Yu could hear the hesitation in his best friend's voice at the mention of his late flame. It didn't take a genius to see that Yosuke still had Saki on the mind. Always.

"We'll figure it out." Yu responded. Yosuke's frown faded into a neutral expression. "Mhm."

The boy's smile suddenly beamed. "Didja see Aki on the news two days ago? It's cool that they interviewed someone for the Junes bit-especially someone on the afternoon staff!" Yosuke chuckled, a different sort of sparkle on his eye. Was it, admiration for his best friend being recognized for her work? Or was it-

"I mean...my dad wanted me to do it but we met up last night, so..." Yosuke winked and laughed, closing his umbrella as they entered the school. His friend did the same, and the two of them met Chie and Yukiko in their homeroom class. Yosuke blinked at his friends at about twenty after the hour, checking his watch and scratching the back of his neck.

"Hey, have you guys seen Aki? I haven't heard from her all morning." Chie glanced at Yosuke from her perch on the desk. She shrugged. Yukiko spoke up instead, turning around in her chair. "Well...she's wasn't feeling very well yesterday. Maybe she stayed home?"

"Maybe! Though...Akiko-chan doesn't usually stay home when she's sick..." Chie smiled, folding her legs. Yosuke bit his bottom lip hesitantly, but nodded.

"I'm sure she's alright. She doesn't answer her phone right away-actually I'm pretty sure she doesn't check her texts until after 10..."

"Yeah, I've seen that." Yu nodded, sitting down beside Chie.

Yosuke sighed, and took his seat behind Yu. "Sure sure."

The previous evening, Akiko lie lounged out on her sofa. Her textbook lie discarded on the ground next to her along with her notebook. She had long since passed out, her cell phone resting on her raising and falling chest. She had crashed soon after she started her homework. Her parents were both out, working later into the evening.

The brunette had the day off of work today, so she decided she would just rest up on her day off. It was hard, always doing something to the best of her ability and draining her energy.

There was a knock on the door over the soft hum of the television. Akiko blinked groggily awake, stretching out and yawning.

"Must be another shipment of mom's magazines again..." She sighed, getting up and scratching the back of her neck. She didn't bother turning on the light. The brunette reached and opened the door, and immediately losing sight of everything when a bag was thrown over her head.

"What the...fuck!" She thrashed about in the bag, kicking her attack with the strength in her running legs.

The attacker spat, and something smashed down on the back of her skull. With a loud cough, Akiko groaned and let her head hang. The brunette lost consciousness soon after that, hearing the whoosh of static waves and different reporter voices passed her head.

The moment she came to, she awoke in a dark place. There were trees and bushes everywhere, and animals called in the darkness to each other. "W-where am I?" Akiko struggled to get off the dirt covered ground. A mischievous chuckled came from the bush, but the moment her glance snapped to the brush, there was no sound.


	11. 11 - Dangerous Territory (Yosuke)

Prompt : Dangerous Territory

The russet-haired boy slammed his door shut, dropping his bag onto the floor and running both hands through his hair. His jaw rested in a firm line, eyes closing as he gripped his head.

The boy abandoned his hold against his head to reach for his cellphone. After shuffling noisily through his pocket, he pushed the phone against his ear and waiting through the dial tone.

"Hello?"

"Yu? Have you seen Aki?"

The male's voice on the other line listened to Yosuke's plead politely before offering a response. "No. Did you not hear from her?"

Yosuke flopped down onto his bed and huffed.

"She didn't show up for her shift today. I'm worried...I mean...what if she's..."

"Akiko's trained in self defence, I'm sure if someone tried to throw her into the TV, she'd be prepared."

"...yeah...I guess so...but what if she's-"

The television at the foot of Yosuke's bed sputtered static. He immediately sat up in his bed, eyes darting to the clock across the room and the watch on his wrist. Midnight. Yu had also ceased to respond as no doubt his television began doing the same thing.

It was when he heard her distorted voice that Yosuke's cell phone fell out of his loose grip and onto the ground.

"...Yosuke? Yosuke!"


	12. 12 - Introduction (Yosuke)

Prompt : Introduction

Yosuke and Akiko met four days after the first day of their first year at Yasogami high school. The two of them both transferred that summer-somewhere around July and August respectively. Both from Tokyo, the teenagers saw more of each other than they even realized.

Yosuke had himself in a trashcan again. The boy always seemed to crash into a trashcan one way or another. With the tin caught around his body, he panicked and pleaded awkwardly for some help.

"Uh...hehe...anyone? A little help here!?"

Two boys nearby scuttled away, snickering at his misfortune. The brunette girl approached the scene from the pathway. She caught sight of the boys mocking the poor teenager stuck in the trashcan and frowned. How awful of them to do that, kids are so judgemental.

The girl stepped carefully over the toppled bicycle and sighed with a small smile. The boy struggled and wiggled in the can. He huffed in frustration and stuck his hands at his side. Unsure of what to do from that point, he just stood with himself stuck in the can.

The brunette couldn't contain her giggles anymore, and burst out laughing. The boy turned his can towards her awkwardly, his face turning red from embarrassment. Great...making a fool of himself in front of a girl. Smooth Yosuke.

"Uh...a little help...maybe...?"

She reached forward and grabbed the handles.

"Don't worry, I gotcha."

Akiko pulled the can a few times. With each tug, it loosened from around Yosuke. The boy could move his arms now, and reached upwards to feel for the handles. His hands rested over hers when he found the handles, and the two yanked the trashcan off.

The brunette's good-hearted smile dropped as her sapphire eyes met with those emerald orbs of the russet-haired boy. His embarrassed smile dropped as well, and he stared forward at her too.

She looked familiar.

He looked familiar.

She was incredibly cute.

He was pretty handsome.

The two broke eye contact as a juicebox landed on Yosuke's head from the over turned trashcan still raised above his head.

"Ah..." he flinched one eye closed as he placed the trash can on the floor.

"Thanks for helping me out of there...my name's Yosuke, by the way. Yosuke Hanamura."

The brunette nodded politely to him, grabbing his bag from the ground and handing it to him with a smile. "No problem, I'm Akiko Shura."

"Huh...are you from around here?" The boy asked, lifting his bike from the ground and walking alongside it as his pace matched Akiko's.

"Ah...no...but neither are you huh?" She chuckled nervously, a knowing glance catching his eye.

"Tokyo, right? I've seen you in the halls before." He said, scratching the back of his neck.

"And I've seen you." She added. Yosuke nodded, shaking his hair free of the debris he felt self-consciously creeping against his skull.

"Then I guess we have something in common, Yosuke." Akiko smiled, halting by her foot locker and winking at him before stalking of to their homeroom.


	13. 13 - Break (Yosuke)

13 - Break

Break time at Junes, Akiko pulled up a chair in the food court and scattered her books in front of her. With one headphone in her ear, she cracked open a text book and adjusted her half-hour timer. Setting it with a firm nod, the brunette sucked from the straw in her pink smoothie and glanced down at the pages; but not before choosing a good song.

Yosuke was still working nearby, having finished a training session with one of the new recruits. He spotted his friend out of the corner of his eye, and decided to pay her a visit after he cleaned the grill, since business wasn't as busy at this time of day.

He sent her side glances each time he looked up from the grill, beige cloth in hand as the smile spread across his face. Every time he had looked up, she was dancing lightly in her seat to the music from her phone. It made him happy to see her doing so well. Her very image was elegant and made his heart skip beats every now at then. He couldn't help but look at the girl with admiration.

If only he could work up the courage to ask her out...

Three-quarters of the way through his job, the russet haired boy looked up and raised a curious brow. Standing across from Akiko was a raven haired boy from their high school, wearing the Junes uniform and a trainee's name tag. As he rubbed in slow circles which began to decrease in speed, he watched them exchange words and watched the boy sit in front of her. The boy shared her gaze intently and smiled suggestively.

Russet eyebrows bristled while the teen placed his cloth down, almost throwing it into the sink and opening the employee only gate. With each step, Yosuke wondered what he could say that wouldn't sound like he was trying to scare he boy away (but don't get him wrong, he was).

The raven haired boy passed a paper to Akiko, who glanced down briefly before politely shaking her head. He frowned, and slid the paper towards her again. She seemed uncomfortable, and that was when Yosuke slipped in.

Standing behind the boy, Yosuke cleared his throat. The boy turned his head and glanced up at the teen's intimidating height with wide eyes. Akiko looked up at him with a (secret) relieved smile.

"Yo, what's up Aki?" He smirked, trying not to raise a cocky brow at the other boy's nervous expression.

"Nothing much Yosuke. Takaya-san and I were just talking about a school project. How's food counter?"

The russet haired teen grabbed a chair from nearby and lounged in it next to his friend. "Not bad, not busy. Fan Takaya, is it?" Yosuke extended a hand to him, to which the other boy shook hesitantly with irritated eyes. "Yeah." He responded, not caring to ask for Yosuke's information.

Yosuke beamed (slyly) back to him and retrieved his hand. "Yosuke Hanamura-Shura-san's boyfriend."


	14. 14 - Dark (Yosuke)

14 - Dark

In the darkness, the team became separated. With shadows present around every corner, they were sure to be followed. They were sure to be extra cautious in the blackness. As the music slowly came to a very low volume, the floor became silent, save for the shuffling of the four teenagers and their frightened footsteps.

The brunette whispered softly to herself, pondering how to get out of this mess.

"Hey, where are you guys!?"

A loud screech came from the pitch black maze and was followed by the screech of a shadow and the familiar scream of their friend Chie.

"Don't shout! That'll encourage them!" Another voice called, this time the voice of Yosuke. Another shadow swished over head of the maze, ruffling Akiko's hair with the gust of wind. She cowered, pushing up against the wall as best as she could to shield herself from the shadows and their view.

"...Miho, can you help me?"

The fox demon appeared in front of her, and touched its nose against her forehead. It's nine tails ruffled in the gentle breeze as a calm feeling flowed through Akiko's body. She closed her eyes, and saw something in the back of her mind.

As she continued to concentrate, she saw the faces of her friends, and a dark curtain leading to the culprit of this power failure.

"Can you give me some light, Miho?" She whispered softly, placing a hand on the beast's head and scratching affectionately behind her ear. The fox twitched in pleasure, before nodding, shaking a bell off of her harness. The bell's gentle jingle sounded as it fell to the floor, and the silence in the maze returned. In the distance, some shadows wailed in distress.

Akiko lifted the bell off the ground and stared in awe as the little object ignited with a rainbow glow. The small bell gave her enough light to see the path in front of her.

"Thank you, Miho-"

Her persona's ears perked upwards as its head snapped to face the opposite direction that Akiko stood. Within warning, the fox bolted down the hall, leaving Akiko behind her.

"Miho!" She whispered hoarsely, and broke into a run after her persona with the rainbow bell, it's jingle soft and calming as it lit her way.

Elsewhere, Yosuke and his persona were battling cheek to cheek with three very angry shadows. Jiraiya stood in front of his master in a defensive stance, but the persona couldn't keep up this effort for much longer.

"Magaru, Jiraiya!"

One last cast of Magaru caught one shadow off guard and sent it into the darkness. But Jiraiya had finally run out of power. The persona collapsed to his knees, keeping his master behind him. Yosuke grasped onto Jiraiya's bent leg, hunching over himself as he felt the fatigue in his bones.

"Hey, don't give up!"

But the two remaining shadows swooped down from the air and dived towards the two. Jiraiya turned to grasp Yosuke in his arms and rolled in another direction as the eagles narrowly missed the ground. They cackled and swooped back upwards, preparing another attack.

Jiraiya released Yosuke, but couldn't manage to stand. As the eagles prepared to dive bomb them again, an angry howl broke their concentration. In the nearby maze entrance, the fox demon stood, flames beginning to engulf its nine tails. She growled ferociously, green eyes igniting with furious fire.

"Miho!" Yosuke stood warily, leaning up against Jiraiya, his persona nodded to the look of determination that Miho gave him, and retreated to his Tarot card. Yosuke felt Jiraiya's card slowly phase back into him, and the soft blue light that engulfed him quickly faded. The birds cackled again, and made aim for Miho.

"Miho!" Another voice called for the persona, and not a moment later its owner emerged from the maze. She took in the situation and darted to Yosuke's side as soon as Miho leapt into the fray.

"Yosuke, are you okay!?"

"That doesn't matter, are you?!" He piped up, running his hands down her shoulders and through her hair. "Are you hurt?" He asked, more quietly, his voice soft and his brown eyes filled with worry.

"N-no time for that, get ready to run." She grabbed his hand and sped to Miho's shelter, feeling the blush creeping up her neck. The fox demon saw the two together and immediately retreated to the floor. She released a torrent of flames and created a smokescreen thick enough to fuel their escape.


	15. 15 - Foreshadow (Akihiko)

15 - Foreshadow

A bunch of teenaged girls giggled inside the change room. For the most part, the junior and senior students were preparing for another swim practice after the last school bell had rung. A trio of juniors were crowded around a cell phone, held by the female in the centre. They flipped through images on the cellular device, and screeched and cooed at each new image. Each image depict a gorgeous boy at their high school-namely one of the senior students who gained all the attention of the girls. With each new screech, another one of the team members would stop preparing for the swim practice and peer over at the attractive photos.

"Ooh! Look at THIS picture of Akihiko-senpai!"

Eventually the whole team squealed around the cell phone and giggled hysterically at the photo. Little did they suspect the presence of another senior student.

"Haha, wow, Akihiko-san. Very nice-but shouldn't you girls be preparing for practice?"

Every girl in the room felt their blood turn to ice, and with wide eyes they searched for the source of the familiar, oddly sweet voice. The brunette female had been leaning on her elbows against the back of the junior student holding the cell phone for about five minutes. The entire team failed to notice their team captain, with a smug grin on her face that struck fear into their hearts.

After all...Akiko Shura's emotions could take a turn at any moment...

"...GET READY FOR PRACTICE AND STOP GAWKING AT SANADA-SAN!" The brunette sudden shouted, snatching the cell phone from the culprit's grasp as the girl scurried away. All the other girls scattered, some giggling nervously and others fearful. A handful of senior girls chuckled as they lounged about the locker room benches, quite amused at the captain's outburst. One of the mid-back, green-haired girls scoffed and threw her hair up into a tight bun as she sent a comment towards Akiko.

"Way to show them, Aki-chan."

Said female let out a breath in disappointment, scratching the back of her head and running her fingers through her wild, thick brown hair. The lovely locks fell mid-back to her as well, but she always had it tied back into a loose, thick ponytail. She worked hard with her arms to pull the hair into something tighter, snapping the hair tie before responding back to her companion.

"I don't understand other girls sometimes, Hikari-chan. Honestly, what good is it to swoon over some boy?"

"Oh c'mon, Aki." A redheaded girl, named Shiza scoffed at the captain, sitting beside Hikari. She twirled a short piece of her pixie cut hair between her fingers, "Haven't you ever swooned over a boy before?"

Akiko tried hard to cover up the blush that dusted her nose. "N-No!" she stuck her nose in the air, crossing her arms with a huff. "Boys get in the way of my studies...I don't bother myself with them."

"Whatta liar." Shiza whispered to Hikari, who giggled. Another blonde senior girl, Misha, chuckled behind the girls on the bench.

"I mean, who hasn't had at least one crush. Mine was Kenji-kun."

The three girls reacted poorly to her 'secret'.

"Eww, the junior?"

"Yeah...I know right?"

The girls all started to make their way to the pool, Shiza closing her locker before joining them.

"I think Iori-san is kinda cute."

"I hear he's a bit of a pervert." Hikari commented, scrunching her nose in disgust.

"Besides, he's a little on the odd side, isn't he?" Misha added, also scrunching her nose. Shiza shrugged, lifting her gym bag over her shoulder.

"I refuse to partake in this boy talk." Akiko muttered, stepping ahead to keep little distance between her "friends" and her conservative ways.

"Oh Aki, we know you're lying."

"Besides, I thought you had a little thing for-"

"I have NO "thiiiiing" for anyone!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever."

"Hey have you guys seen the new kid yet? What's his name...Arisato-san?"

"Oh, he's soooo cute."

"Speak of the devils."

The captain threw her towel casually over her shoulder, meeting the glance of the male swim team manager with her own eyes.

Akiko stepped towards her, holding her glory and confidence as the boys on the opposite team gawked at her swim suit. "Hello, Yuko-how are you?"

Yuko nodded politely at Akiko. "I'm alright, how are you Captain?"

"Not bad," she shifted her weigh to her other side and huffed softly. "So why are your boys using my pool time?"

"Last time I checked, Wednesdays were our time." Yuko retorted, crossing her arms.

"I asked coach to give me this Wednesday for the event on Thursday...but I guess not." The swim captain pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. The rest of the team stood around awkwardly, stepping from one foot to the other. Some of the girls (mostly the older ones) were fighting off the boys' stares with aggressive looks.

"No problem, I guess we'll head off then-sorry." She quickly recovered, brushing a loose strand from her hair behind her ear and bowing politely at the younger captain. Yuko stuttered at her elder's formalness but bowed in response. "So sorry, we'll have to talk with coach later."

"For sure." Akiko added, waving off the rest of her team.

"Alright girls, fun's over! Head on home, we'll see you Friday." With one bark from her surprisingly booming voice, the girls team scattered. Some of the young girls made seductive faces at the already buttered up boys, earning eyeball rolls from the senior girls.

"Well...that was uneventful. You're usually not that forgiving." Shiza snorted, switching back to her school uniform. The brunette girl huffed in response, not saying much else. She gave the remaining girls a two-finger salute as she lifted her gym bag strap over her shoulder.

Door in hand, Akiko was almost through the small crack when Hikari called out to her from around some lockers. "Are you sure you're alright Aki-chan!?"

Her left shoulder twitched, but she tilted her head enough to show the convincing smiling to the girls. "I'm fine. See ya."

Comically, one of the girls shouted "Text me when you get home, babe!" as the door closed and earned little chuckled from the locker room occupants. Akiko chuckled under her breath as she shook her head and made her way to her shoe locker at the front of the school.

Despite the normal sounding behaviour, this wasn't the Akiko that everyone knew. The brunette girl was usually lively and comical. Very rarely did she act serious and strict like she had that day. Or that week, for that matter.

Fact; Akiko wasn't sleeping.

Fact; She was up passed midnight, and she thought she was hearing voices.

Fact; When she heard these voices, weird things happened.

At one point that month, she tried to send text messages to someone-anyone that would listen as the gloomy green moonlight consumed her thoughts. But her cell phone wouldn't work. In fact, she realized that nothing electronic worked during that time. The atmosphere made her feel sick, sick and brooding. But...she told no one.

Who would believe in green moonlight and hearing voices without sending her to a psychological ward?

The sun shone brightly outdoors, signalling the close approach of warmth-but-not-quite-summer. Akiko raised her palm to shield her eyes as she stepped down the front staircase. Her bag swung slightly back and forth at her thigh as the small content sigh escaped her lips. The warm weather (not to mention her lack of sleep) made her yawn as her dainty hand came up to her candy lips. It quickly left those lips and scratched the back of her head before she straightened out again.

'Now let's see...I have some drills to figure out for Friday and I have some English presentations to prepare for...and what about-"

"Hey, Shura-san!"

The male voice broke her concentration. She noticed the new company with the shadows his lanky body created on the ground.

"Oh, hello Sanada-san. What's up?" she replied, not even the slightest bit curious. If her uninterested expression didn't say it, she didn't know what would. She very well knew that he approached her just to get away from his fangirls. The silver-haired male rubbed the back of his neck and stepped into stride next to her, pretending not to notice the disappointed look from the posse of girls that had just surrounded him moments prior.

"I was wondering if you had the questions we have to do for homework in Calculus, since we were away training for the competition today."

The boxer pushed his bag strap up higher on his shoulder and followed in stride with the brunette around the gate and down the neighbouring street.

"...you know they're gone now, right? You don't need to pretend to have reasons you "had to leave" anymore." She said bluntly once they were about halfway down the street.

There was a small tint on his cheeks that quickly disappeared. "I know..." he muttered, scratching his neck. "But I do need the homework for today if you wouldn't mind."

She nodded and offered her notebook for him to copy. "Sure."

He thanked her and snapped a photo of the question numbers with his cell phone.

You could say that Akihiko and Akiko were general friends. They met in middle school, and usually only spoke about two things; academics or athletics. Akiko was impressed and loved hearing about his spot as Boxing Captain, and vice versa. If Akihiko needed any academic help, he would always go to Akiko. Though the latter may say the girl is smarter, they both thought the same and had the same academic average. Akiko used her logic and common sense a little more than Akihiko, but the boy was quick on his feet and smart on the streets.  
>Yet the two shared another compatibility-Akihiko didn't show much emotion but always listened and gave advice. Akiko always showed her emotion, although offering her advice she'd always look to others for input. Even with their general friendship, they found comfort conversing both casually and seriously with each other.<br>But despite common assumption when the two were together, they weren't an item. Akihiko's fan club was happy about that. They didn't spare Akiko any dirty glances when the two spoke however.  
>Akihiko handed the notebook back to the girl with a casual 'thank you'. She nodded gruffly and continued walking at his side, shoving the book back into her bag. The taller male raised a curious eyebrow at her, shifting the weight of his bag on his shoulder.<br>"You look like you've had a rough day. Something on your mind?"  
>Akiko huffed, and explained what happened with swim practice. "I'm also exhausted-I haven't been able to get much sleep lately."<br>"No sleep? That's weird, usually you sleep like a log." He chuckled at her piercing look. Fortunately for her, Akihiko wasn't afraid of her 'looks'. To him, she was small and harmless. "Is something keeping you up? You haven't seemed well at school lately." He pressed on, his line of sight briefly catching his dorm building up ahead.  
>Akiko chewed on the inside of her cheek thoughtfully, and processed her thoughts through her head. Sure, she knew exactly what was bothering her...but what would he say? Would he think she was crazy...?<br>The brunette sighed, and scratched at the back of her neck. They both stopped at the dorm, Akihiko glancing down at her attentively due to their height differences.  
>"...it's strange...but...I think I'm hearing voices."<br>There was a flicker of recognition in Akihiko's grey eyes. A fine line replaced his loose smirk.  
>"Voices?"<br>"Y-Yeah...haha..." She rubbed her nose, a faint pink dusting her cheeks. "That probably sounds crazy, huh?"  
>Akihiko didn't directly address her joke at first, his expression never changing. "Is there anything...uh...is it something they're saying? What's it like? I-I mean...what if it's..." The boy's eyes glanced upwards thoughtfully as he frantically tries to remember something, "Apathy syndrome...!"<br>Akiko's eyes widened. "O-oh. I never thought about that...ah...well. It's like," she motioned her hands, rolling them in circles over each other. "A hissing sound. Calling me. Someone is calling...it gets worse every night...more clear. I find it hard to control myself."  
>She had reverted her sight from him, but when she looked up at him, Akihiko was processing her story with a stern expression.<br>"Hmm...that's strange..." He said finally after a few moments.  
>"Sorry. I mean...I couldn't really say anything to Shiza or any of the girls-they'd probably smack me. I figured I could talk to you. You're on a more...earthly level." The brunette girl tittered, stepping away from him. "Anyway...thanks for listening, Sanada-san." She bowed politely.<br>Akihiko hesitated, but bowed back to her. "Yeah. You're welcome. Don't hesitate to talk to me if you need something."  
>The female nodded to him with a small, reassuring smile that tried to convince the little nagging expression on Akihiko's face that showed his concern.<br>They parted, Akiko turning on her heel to continue on her way to the other student residence buildings. Akihiko's teeth were clenched behind his blank expression, as his fingers urgently typed a message to his other dorm mates.  
>"...Sanada-san!"<br>Akihiko's head shot up at his name, Akiko standing twenty feet away with another serious expression.  
>"...have you ever seen green moonlight...?"<br>Another hesitation later, the male shook his head very slowly. The brunette nodded sharply, and turned away for good, walking stiffly down the street.  
>He glanced back down at his cell phone.<br>'Scratch that, she's definitely experiencing the Dark Hour.'


	16. 16 - Midnight (Akihiko)

16 - Midnight

Akiko woke with a start. She shivered underneath her blanket, and rubbed her eyes gingerly. Rolling over, she glanced at the alarm clock on her night stand. It read "11:58PM."

She sighed, sitting up on her mattress and slipping on some slippers. She rubbed her face again, and stood up with a bit of a stretch.

These sleepless nights were starting to become a pain. Not to mention she was hungry and exhausted. The brunette walked over to her desk and began shifting through papers on her desk, searching for her cell phone. She clicked on a button, illuminating her screen. Akiko hummed in surprise, noticing that she received a text message.

It was from Akihiko.

'Hey, are you having trouble sleeping still?' It read. Received at 11:52.

'Yeah, still :/' she responded quickly, before tapping on another object on her screen to check the forecast for the next day.

Out of nowhere, her cell phone turned off. The atmosphere changed.

The sparse amount of light that actually managed to make it through the blinds streamed green against the hardwood floor. Akiko placed the phone back on her desk and approached the window, peering through the blinds at the ground below.

The green light remained outside. No lights were on, and the moon hung high in the sky with a practically full glow. The next full moon was in a couple days.

She felt restless, restless and brooding, as her eyes lidded from deep thought. She contemplated this weird atmosphere a lot, but couldn't figure out for the life of her what caused it, or the voices.

"Akiko."

A hissing sound in her mind. She gripped her forehead and grunted.

"Akiko. Come."

"I...I don't want to..."

"Come to me, come to your destiny..."

She fought the temptation again, planting herself to the ground. The voice hissed, and gruffly it screeched in her mind.

"...NOW."

The moment the voice screeched, her legs acted on their own. Her conscious didn't remember anything she did from there on. But her body had been completely possessed, as she loosed up and began exiting her room with a blank expression.


	17. 17 - Rescue (Akihiko)

17 - Rescue

"So you're saying that it's possible we'll find Yamagishi if we enter through the same route she took?" Akiko asked, walking in sync with Akihiko at her side. She held her chin thoughtful. "It could be very dangerous...but I have to admit...we don't have many options..."

The white haired boy nodded firmly and glanced back at the rest of the posse.

"We need to finish this quickly and effectively." Mitsuru nodded back to the two other senior students. The younger students glanced among themselves and made faces, but ultimately agreed.

As Junpei reached the front of the group to unlock the door, Akiko leaned against the gym structure and rubbed at her arms. Goosebumps lined her skin from the cool midnight breeze. Yukari seemed to be a little cold as well. They exchanged glances, and smiled with hints of understanding as they rubbed their arms. Akihiko looked on at his friends, chuckling.

"You unlocked the door during the day...tres bien!" Mitsuru praised Junpei as she stepped into the school, smiling. Akihiko gave the boy a thumbs up, following Mitsuru after saying "Good job."

Junpei glanced back at Minato and Yukari with a blank expression.

"Trey bean? What is that? That can't be English..."

He stared right at Minato. The blue haired boy shrugged at him without a word.

The team regrouped inside the building in the school atrium, where they began to debrief the mission.

"Alright. We'll have to separate into two teams. Now that Arisato and Takeba found the gym key, we'll set up one assault team and one backup team." Mitsuru stated, crossing her arms and giving them all a serious look. "I'm not about to lose all our man power."

Akihiko prominently pointed at himself with his thumb. "I'm on the assault team. It's about time I got some action!" He smirked to them, cracking his knuckles.

Yukari was about to speak up, but was interrupted by Junpei, who wanted to redeem himself from the last mission. Following a consensus and Minato's nod, Junpei was also added to the roster.

"I guess that leaves Mitsuru-senpai and I behind..." Yukari scratched at her arm nervously. Akiko's eyebrows furrowed, and she crossed her arms. Mitsuru glanced her way and lowered her own arms.

"What is it, Akiko?"

"...I think I should stay behind."

"Huh? Why do you think that, Senpai? We could have a full team inside to-" Junpei grinned, about to describe a kick-ass battle simulation where he would fight side to side with his darling Akiko-senpai. (Un)fortunately, the latter interrupted his scenario.

"What if something were to happen back here? I'm not so sure we should leave Mitsuru and Yukari-chan behind. Nothing against the two of you, of course..." She scratched the back of her neck, her hand immediately reaching to rest on her Evoker around her thigh. "But Mitsuru's a little more on strategic support status and Yuka-chan's a full support with little offense..."

"And Shura-senpai is a heavy hitter and agility based style." Minato piped up, nodding his understanding at her train of thought. Mitsuru and Yukari paused, but also agreed to her explanation. Junpei seemed pretty disappointed that he would still have to wait to fight at her side. Akihiko's jaw clenched for a moment, his thoughts clicking in for a moment. He opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again with hesitation.

"It makes sense. Alright." Was all he said.

Junpei announced the time; 11:56. They parted ways, the three girls waving the boys off, wishing them care and luck.


	18. 18 - Communication (Akihiko)

18 - Communication

"Damn it! How could we...I should have..." Akiko clenched her head between her hands and groaned, squeezing her eyes shut. Yukari watched the two seniors who were huddled around the radio-like system with a worried expression, hands behind her back.

"There's nothing we can do, Shura. Just...trust Akihiko. He'll take care of them. We'll keep trying."

The brunette sighed, running her hands through her ponytail as she tried to relax. "Alright. Want me to give it a try while you focus?"

Mitsuru muttered a brief "Sure" as she handed the device to Akiko. The brunette girl twisted the knobs as Mitsuru focused more on her persona power. Her eyes widened when the voice of Akihiko broke through the static.

"Mitsuru!...Separated...!...Hell..."

The static took over.

"Shit." Aki sighed, crossing her legs as she sat on the floor. Yukari joined her, examining the device at her feet. "They got separated...I knew this was a bad idea..." She groaned, her bow lying unarmed on her lap.

"Hang in there...Yamagishi..." Mitsuru muttered to herself, leaning against her vehicle and trying to focus her power again. Akiko glanced up at her friend, and as she noticed her beginning to work once more, she began to fiddle with the machine again.


	19. 19 - Vanquish (Akihiko)

18 - Vanquish

"Akihiko!"

Akihiko glanced upwards as if the very voice of God spoke to him within the dungeon they called Tartarus. He recognized the voice of Mitsuru right away, and was the first to address back to her, as the other two chatted quietly to Fuuka about the full moon. Junpei found a way to casual slip in some pick up lines, much to Minato's irritation.

"...Akihiko! ...Shadows...Be careful!..."

There was a loud explosion, followed by a gust of wind over the intercom. A loud scream tore through the air, and Junpei's shoulders tensed. Akihiko stood wide eyed at the recognition of the scream's owner, and his jaw clenched as he continued to listen to the broadcast.

"Akiko!"  
>"Akiko-senpai!"<p>

A flurry of fire.  
>A fox's bark.<br>Akiko's grunting, a gruff thank you. Mitsuru summoning her persona. Yukari being thrown to the ground.  
>Static.<p>

"...Mitsuru?" Akihiko called hesitantly.  
>"Mitsuru...!?" More urgently.<br>"...Aki!? Aki!" He shouted, still receiving no answer. In a flash, he bolted down the hallway.

"Hurry! We have no time to lose!"

-

"Akihiko! Shadows are attacking! Hurry, please be careful! We're doing the best...ah!"

Mitsuru rolled away from the large arm that threatened to crush her beneath it. Yukari raised her Evoker to her head and summon a gust of wind against the female resembling Shadow. It was knocked back, falling to the ground in a heap with a loud crash. She cheered, giving Akiko a thumbs up.

The brunette's persona stood at her side, growling loudly. She rolled out of another oncoming attack and sent Miho to engulf the Emperor with flames. The moment Miho laid eyes on the Emperor, her eyes ignited and a flaming explosion took over the Shadow.

"Holla at your girl!" She cheered, grinning at Mitsuru. Mitsuru smiled awkwardly to herself, and nodded an acknowledgement to her. Akiko smiled as well, but caught the silhouette emerging from the smoke. The Emperor hadn't been knocked down. He raised his sword and aimed right for Mitsuru.

As fast as she could, Akiko darted across the way and threw her back against Mitsuru, shoving her out of the way. The Emperor's arm came down just in front of her, however it's blade tip caught her left shoulder and sliced down the front of her shoulder and upper peck.

She screamed, the pain beginning to burn like her own persona's igniting flames. From the slash in her uniform blouse, blood began to seep through to the cut edges.

"Akiko!" Mitsuru cried, dodging another attack and coming to her side.

"Akiko-senpai!" Yukari tried to cast a healing spell on her senpai. Wincing, the tears welling just at the bottom of her eyes, she tried her hardest to stand. Her right arm gripped the slashed shoulder, while she lifted her Evoker loosely in her left hand.

Panting heavily, the brunette castes her smouldering glare at the Emperor. She let out a deep, angry battle cry and aimed at her hand again. The loose tears prickled down her cheeks as the nine-tailed fox emerged again and launched another flurry of explosions.

-

"Mitsuru! Aki...Aki! Aki!" Akihiko ran down the staircase as soon as the group reached the entrance. The three girls were scattered around the room. Mitsuru and Yukari were both on the ground. Yukari huffed and huffed, unable to stand. Mitsuru gripped her left leg and didn't seem to be able to stand either. Both Emperor and Empress seemed to hang there, taunting anyone who dared to challenge them.

Akiko was down on one knee...still fighting. Still gripping her shoulder, she evoked Miho as the fox began to attack once more. It circled around the enemies' heads and tried to distract them. At the sound of Akihiko's voice, she fell to her second knee, wincing with the pain but raising her head upwards as if to thank some higher power for the reinforcements. Minato and Junpei immediately rushed into battle as they agreed that Akihiko would quickly examine the girls. Fuuka took for cover.

Mitsuru and Yukari both gave him a glance as he ran by that said they were bruised but alive. He stumbled to Akiko's side, and just barely caught her as she fell from her kneeling state. She fell into his arms, still gripping her shoulder.

There were spills of blood all around the room, and not just from Akiko's wound. Akiko sighed as her body hit his chest, unable to hold herself up anymore. The wound had stopped bleeding at this point, but still pained her every move. Akihiko's arms cradled her against him, pressing her into a soft embrace as she collapsed into him.

"Thanks, Akihiko..." She whispered, closing her eyes and resting her head against his collarbone. At the whisper of his first name, his cheek tinted pink a little bit. He regained his composure quickly and nodded seriously, brushing her hair out of her face and placing her down gently on the ground. He stood up, legs shoulder-width apart as he glared at the shadows.

His Evoker raised to his head, he called out loud to his persona. "Polydeuces!"

Fuuka provided support with her new found powers as the three boys took over the assault. Orpheus whizzed around the shadows' heads and fired shots of flames at them. Hermes did the same, adding a stab here and there. Polydeuces shocked them with bolts of lightening, his owner narrowly avoiding a physical attack from the shadows.

The brunette girl grunted, and slowly began to get up again despite her injury. Yukari stirred as well, trying to provide healing support when she could. Her Persona hovered over to Miho, healing the wounded fox. She yipped thankfully, and bounded off to Polydeuces' side. Akihiko blinked owlishly at the Persona, looking over his shoulder at its owner as the girl hobbled to his side. There were bruises and cuts on her face and neck, but she still pushed on with determined eyes, a fire deep within. She caught her friend's worried glance and beamed at him reassuringly.

The four of them continued to battle the shadows with vigor. With the boys now targeted, the bruises and damages were put onto their bodies. Emperor seemed to be pretty taken with smacking Akiko around, and aimed for her all the time. Akihiko would slide right in, summoning Polydeuces to parry when Miho could not. Minato fell to the ground when Empress threw Orpheus at him, and Junpei cursed loudly at them with a shaking fist.


	20. 20 - Aftermath (Akihiko)

The brunette stirred from her deep slumber the next day. In the hospital bed, she shifted and let her sapphire eyes glance around the room. She could feel the fatigue in her joints, and the pain by her shoulder. Using her strong hand, she slowly checked her upper peck by sliding her shirt collar to the side to reveal the bandages underneath.

The door slid open, causing Akiko to perk up and stare at the person who entered the room. The female nurse made her way to the hospital bed next to Akiko, blushing at the occupant and acknowledging them.

"How are you feeling, Sanada-san? Fortunately, you didn't open up any of your old wounds so you'll be free to go."

"Oh, that's great. Thank you." Akihiko responded back politely, giving the nurse another charming smile that caused her to inwardly swoon, but outwardly blushing. Akihiko fidgetted in his sitting position on his mattress. The nurse caught Akiko's absent-minded glance at the two of them and blinked owlishly.

"Oh! Shura-san! How are you doing? Doctor says you should be pretty well patched up now." The nurse came over to the girl, who nodded in response. The shock made it difficult for her to speak, but she still tried to communicate.

The nurse placed her hand on the girl's upper peck, and placed pressure on the bandages. "How does that feel?"

She winced, but nodded. Her hair fell slightly into her face, as she fidgeted on the mattress. The brunette made a motion to stand, and the nurse adjusted to help her up. She pulled Akiko to a sit position. Akihiko was pulling himself out of bed with ease, moving to Akiko's bedside to examine her condition.

The girl shifted to place her feet on the ground, and tried to put pressure on them. The nurse held Akiko's shoulder and side steady as she spoke kindly to her; "Now be careful, you twisted your ankle-it may be kind of painful..."

She teetered on her feet. Her arms immediately darted upwards and pointing outwards to help her balance herself. Akihiko chuckled, crossing his arms and squeezed one eye shut at her struggles. Akiko tested her control for a moment, stepping left and right and around the bed a bit. The nurse stood nearby-and jolted in surprise when the girl stumbled forward.

The silvernette boy immediately caught her in his upper arms, hands grasping her small waist. She glanced up at him, muttering gibberish at first but composing a sentence of "Thanks, Akihiko..."

Akihiko nodded at her, and silently reach a hand up to brush the loose hair on her face behind her ear.

The nurse awkwardly shifted out of the room as the two teens shared a smile and a moment. Akihiko blushed after a moment or two, and suddenly glanced down at Akiko's bandages.

"So uh, how are you feeling? Your wounds looked pretty bad..."

She stood on her own without Akihiko's help.

"It's a little painful...but...I think I'll be fine."

The young man scratched the back of his neck with an awkward smile.

"Haha, I hope so."


	21. 21 - Distraction (Akihiko)

July 7th; Akiko slipped the last button of her uniform shirt through its respective hole. The sun beams flitted through the blinds and steamed across her vanity. A white, paper wristband shone in the light and caught the senior's attention. At the sight of the blue and red, courier font on the wristband, her content expression dropped. She glared in the mirror instead, grabbing her phone on the surface of the vanity.

In the mirror, the brunette examined her neutral features. She smiled slightly, taking in the little details she vainly enjoyed looking at, like her smile, vibrant eyes, and the way her soft skin continued down her face to her neck...

She saw her collar bone, almost exposed underneath her shirt collar and frowned deeper. Her thin fingers pulled the collar down, revealing the pink scar underneath her collar, extending diagonally to her shoulder in a jagged, thick line.

Since the last full moon, Akiko had been recovering from her injuries. The torn hospital wristband and scar continued to remind her of that. Every step of the healing process reminded her of how much stronger she needed to become, so that she no longer had to burden her friends with the dangers and responsibilities she had to face herself. And the next full moon was now only hours away.

Determined once more, Akiko nodded confidently to her reflection and tossed her phone into her book bag. Pulling the bag strap to her shoulder, she caught her own eye in the mirror again. This time, she faced her reflection with a smirk and clasped her hands together; "Let's do our best!"

That night, after Akiko had returned from hanging out with Junpei. The boy had warned her that pictures were going around the school of her, in her swimming team suit-and that he swore to find out who would dare do such a thing. She felt the cockles of her heart warm at his chivalrous actions.

As the door closed behind her, she gained welcoming glances from her dorm mates.

Fuuka smiled politely, addressing her verbally. "Welcome back."

Akiko smiled as she slipped off her sneakers. "Thanks Fuuka! Any chance any of you made dinner?" She joked. The girl caught Akihiko's snort as he turned to the next page of his magazine. "Nice try."

"Hey, at least I tried." Akiko stepped into the kitchen, but quickly peered back into the room and smiled at her friends. "One can always hope!"

She disappeared again. Soon a delicious smell wafted from the gap underneath the door. While the brunette was whisking eggs in a bowl, the protein junkie slipped into the kitchen. The door swung back and forth before settling to its rest position.

Akiko didn't notice him come in behind her, so she was ridiculously startled when she felt him against her back. His deep voice resonated through his chest and vibrated against her body.

"You'll hurt your wrist like that, you know."

"A-A-Akihiko-san!" She leapt in her skin, startled at first but catching her breath and pouting when some of her liquid egg spilt into the sink. "Oh..."

"Sorry...what a waste." Akihiko sighed, but chuckled softly. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay-"

"Here." His calloused, warm hands covered hers as his arms wrapped around her.

His hands covered some of the bowl and the whisk, and moved her hands with his. His body fit against her back, almost like a puzzle piece. As the sloshing of the egg mixture became the only sound other than both of their breathing, Akiko felt her face slowly heat up at Akihiko's contact.

Akihiko didn't seem phased at all. It was almost as if he didn't notice how close his body was to her, and how likely inappropriate it would seem to their other dorm mates.

Jesus. Sometimes, Akihiko could be a little dense.

Since the last full moon, Akihiko became more and more concerned with Aki's safety. That being so, they became closer and closer. Even with that Akiko was nervous as hell around the boy but slowly became more aware of her growing feelings for him. The opposite being true as well. Although, Akihiko was more aloof about the situation due to his fear of humiliation.

"What are you trying to make, anyway?" Akihiko asked.

"Omelette rice. Would you like some?" She responded. He released her hands, as she placed the bowl down on the counter.

"If you're offering, sure." Akihiko smiled down at her. She turned her head to glance at him, smiling sheepishly with a light blush. The boy caught her blush, and immediately caught on. He stepped back awkwardly. "Ah...I'm sorry."

"N-no! I mean..." Akiko turned away and laughed it off as she poured the mixture into the heated frying pan. "You were helpful!"

He scratched his neck nervously, but nodded. "I'll...uh...be in the lounge when you're finished." He felt the blush creeping up his neck as he turned away, hiding himself to avoid anymore awkward conversation.

The brunette heard the door swing behind her, and sighed with relief.

This couldn't keep going on.


	22. 22 - Prepare (Akihiko)

"I sense a big shadow! It seems to be coming from the Shirakawa Boulevard."

The first sound to come after the team's silence came from the brunette senior.

"Awww yeeeeah."

Junpei doubled over with laughter. "THOSE hotels, eh? Well well."

"Well. For the mission." Akihiko shrugged.

"Anyway, I want a chance this time! No way am I staying behind." Yukari stalked across the control room with her arms crossed and came to stand beside the leader. Minato shrugged when some of the team members gave him a confused look.

Mitsuru nodded at the two. "That leaves two others. We'll leave it to you to decide, Arisato."

Minato nodded sharply, and reached for his short blade and armor. Yukari adjusted her quiver and prepared her own equipment.

Akiko sighed. Running a hand through her ponytail, she walked towards the window and leaned against the pillar in the far corner of the room. Glancing out the window, she examined the green streams of moonlight landing on the buildings off of the Iwatodai station area. Shirakawa Boulevard-a neighbourhood of racy, young adult sex hotels. Awesome.

"...Aki-chan."

Minato's cool voice brought her to her senses. Her eyes widened in surprise, as he nodded briefly at her. She nodded back, bowing politely. "I won't let you down, Minato-kun!"

A small smirk formed on his lips as he walked towards the door, waiting for his team mates to join him. Yukari joined him quickly, as Akiko slipped her twin katanas into their sheaths upon her back. Adjusting bits of her under armour, she also joined at his side. Akihiko approached them at the same time as well, knuckles already slipped on. He grinned at them all.

"Let's do this."

-

"Duck, Akiko-senpai!"

Dropping low, the brunette unsheathed her blades and sliced the cross that just aimed at her head from her crouched position. The stone crumbled as the figurine collasped into a dust pile at her boots.

"Enough already, finish that Hierophant before it uses Prophecy again!" She barked, falling victim to the other cross figure attacking them. Minato leapt over Yukari's head with Akihiko's boost as the female healed the party. With one last blow the hierophant fell, fading into its shadowy demise.

The other three sighed in relief.

"Good work you guys! You should be free to go. I don't detect any more shadows." Fuuka's voice came through their heads. Nodding, they all reached for the exit.

"Good work, team!" Akihiko whooped. Minato offered his hand to Akiko, who still lie on the floor from the shadow's attack. Gratefully, she took his hand and the boy pulled her to a stand. The blunette placed a firm hand on her shoulder, a smile forming on his mostly silent lips.

"Good work, Aki-chan."

She was caught off guard, but laughed it off modestly and firmly grasped his shoulder opposite of her to give her own praise.

When Yukari grabbed the door, it wouldn't budge.

"...?" Akiko tilted her head, crossing the room and reaching for the other door. Like its brother, it didn't budge.

"Something is there with you! Stay alert!"

Akihiko crossed his arms and huffed. "Well. Something in this room should help."

So the four of them searched the room. However...one touch to that mirror...


	23. 23 - Hazy (Akihiko)

Akiko woke with a start, her legs hanging halfway off of the circular mattress. She noticed the lack of fabric support to her body that her dungeon crawling uniform usually had to her body. Feeling the coolness of the room, she saw that she wore little clothing, wearing a familiar white skirt and a lacy tank top.

"Wha..."

What happened...

A sharp squeak came from another room nearby.

My mind feels hazy...

A haze continued to swirl around the room, making the visibility difficult.

She stood up, grasping the nearest ledge and groaning when her body wouldn't support her. A muddled voice spoke to her through her thoughts.

_**"Embrace your desires."**_

The door to the other room opened.

The haze deepened.

As the familiar form of Akihiko stepped out, steam followed him. In his waist-towel glory, he glanced at the girl, who had received her strong land legs once more. For a moment he gripped his head, eyelids crinkled as the jolt ran through his body. But as the pain subsided and the two shared glances, their eyelids dropped. Replacing the pain was a variety of emotions-namely lust, longing, and desire.

"...Akiko..."

"...Akihiko..."

All at once the boxer pinned the girl to the mattress. The voice in his head egged him on as their lips smashed together. Through moans and gasps, Akiko tilted her head back. Her eyelids shut, as Akihiko's lips pressed firmly against her silky skin. He grunted himself, running one warm hand up her inner thigh and underneath her skirt while the other lifted one side of her shirt.

"A-Aki..."

"Aki..."

Both hands came up to remove her shirt, and he pressed her harder against the mattress as her leg came up to wrap around his waist. Never removing their lips from each other, Akihiko moved his hands to the clasp of her bra.

Something suddenly struck them both.

_"You can't give in, the shadows are trying to trick you!"_

"You're right. This isn't reality. This is...a full moon event..."

Immediately their lidded eyes snapped open.

"Akihiko...we can't."

"Not like this. I know."

"We...need to stop...it's...the shadows. We need to find the others."

His soft neck kisses slowed to a stop until his sigh tickled her neck.

They were silent for a moment. The only sound being their ragged breath. She lie her head back against the soft cushion and closed her eyes. They readjusted, sitting up together on the mattress. Akiko rested her head against his shoulder. Akihiko wrapped his arms around her and hid his scarlet face against her own shoulder.

"Akiko...I'm so sorry..."

"Don't worry. It...was the shadow's doing."

They were both silent for a moment. But they both agreed with that statement.

Or maybe it was the shadow's _encouragement._


	24. 24 - Incident (Akihiko)

Ever since the "incident", as they referred to it, Akiko and Akihiko had been very...weird to each other.

In the halls, when they would catch each other's eye, they would look away bashfully but nod curtly to acknowledge the other's presence.

On the train, even though they would usually stand next to each other and chat up a storm, they no longer did so.

In the dorm, they would follow the same procedure as the school hallways, trying to avoid each other's glance.

It had actually been the topic of many conversations, the awkwardness between them. More recently, while some of the team were lounging in the lounge, it had come up.

Akiko was happily playing a MMORPG on her laptop, humming contently to herself as she hacked away another enemy mob. Fuuka was also on her laptop, hopelessly skimming through recipes and sighing to herself. Akihiko was seated on the same couch as Yukari, flipping through a magazine with a bored look on his face. Yukari was playing with her cell phone, shooting off a text to some friends before she snapped it shut with flair.

"Hey Fuuka, haven't you noticed something odd going on around here?"

Fuuka glanced up from her laptop with a surprised expression and a timid "oh?". Akihiko flipped another page, furrowing his brows at the new text he tried to decipher about "angles and elbows".

Yukari made a face, and nudged her thumbs towards the two still engrossed in their tasks, unnoticed by them. Fuuka perked up with a now-understanding "Oh!" and blinked owlishly at the girl, unsure of what to do next.

After another minute of silence, Yukari sighed impatiently and waltzed casually towards Akiko. In a flash, she smacked the laptop shut, effectively startling Akiko and the previously focused Akihiko with the sound.

The brunette senior's startled gaze was met with the girl's irritated glare.

"Are you sure nothing happened between you two during the mission!? Because it sure doesn't seem that way!"

The brunette's sapphire eyes trailed slowly over to Akihiko, who met her glance with a light blush. They both looked away, and simultaneously darted in opposite directions after gathering their things at lightning speed. Akihiko's rolled up magazine flopped onto the half wall as he exited the dorm with the door slammed behind him. Akiko's laptop was tucked under her arm as she flew up the staircase and into her room with a loud door slam.

The two girls in the lounge shared a puzzled look.


End file.
